It’s a funny thing: offshore sailing in the Midwest. But that’s exactly what the Chicago Yacht Club’s Race to Mackinac is, featuring 333 miles of sailing, often requiring sailors to negotiate a wide variety of wind and sea-state conditions en route to an island (Mackinac Island, that is) that doesn’t allow cars, but instead condones pedestrians, bicycles, and horse-drawn carriages. But that’s an FULL STORY

"Many books on fiberglass repair, including one of yours, have drawings showing how to lay up cloth and mat over a tapered repair area, like a hole. The repair always begins with a small piece of cloth at the bottom, and as the layup continues, the pieces get larger. This makes sense to me, because a layup schedule doesn’t depend on just one interface bonding. Going from smaller to larger would FULL STORY

On Thursday, July 17, 2008, Mark Rudiger passed away from lymphoma. He was 53 years old. Rudiger had battled the cancer for 4 years, and he had been doing well in his fight until the tide sadly changed a few months ago.

Rudiger was a legend in offshore racing and navigating circles, having navigated 14 Transpac races and two Volvo Ocean Races, the later being the